


"Come in"

by FebruaryGemini



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Gen, unconventional solutions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2018-12-02
Packaged: 2019-09-05 08:36:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16807189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FebruaryGemini/pseuds/FebruaryGemini
Summary: It's not like they don't feel safe other places, there's just something about his presence.





	"Come in"

They knocked on the door of Captain Levi's office at one in the morning.  
"Come in," came the voice that never recognised the lateness of the hour.  
Open the door, step inside, shut the door, turn and salute, all without looking up.  
"Yes?"  
"Forgive me, sir. This was a mistake. I shouldn't have disturbed you. Goodnight."  
"Goodnight."

Two more nights passed where they walked past that door without knocking.  
Then they couldn't stand it.

"Come in."  
"Please, sir..."  
"Yes?"  
"Sorry, I-"  
"You want something. What is it?"  
"It's nothing, sir. Goodnight."  
"Goodnight."

They would go up to the tower on the other side of the courtyard and watch the light spill from his window.  
Tomorrow night they'd ask for real. Yeah right.

"Come in."  
"Sir?"  
"What do you want?"  
"Would it be alright with you, sir... Would you allow me, please..."  
"Spit it out."  
"...please sir, I know it sounds stupid, but will you let me sit at your feet? I'm sorry, sir. Please. For just a moment. ...please."

The long moment of silence could mean anything. Was he flattered? Was he doubting their mental health? Was he thinking about something else?  
Had they caught the captain off guard?

"Why?"  
"...to be near you."

They shouldn't have spoken up. This was a mistake. They should be trying to sleep in the bunk room with everyone else.

"Fine."

Really?

"Just don't get in the way."  
"Thank you."

They sat down in the corner and closed their eyes.  
The rustling of papers as he worked was the only sound.  
The tension faded away.

Everything was right with the world.

Towards three o'clock, they stood up.  
"Goodnight, sir."  
"Goodnight."

They went back the very next night.

"Come in."  
"Sir, may I-?"  
He gestured toward the corner.  
"...thank you," and they went to sit down.

There was a chair in the corner.  
He'd had a chair brought in.  
They sat on the floor anyway.  
The next night, the chair was gone.

Then there was a cushion.  
They liked the cushion.  
It stayed.

Soon they were going to bed around four or five.  
"You don't have to."

The night after that, they curled up on the cushion and slept there.

"You have cadets as pets now?"  
"They said they wanted to be near me."  
"And you let them?"  
"Would you have the heart to push them away?"

"We've started using their bunk for storage."  
"Do they ever sleep?"  
"I heard they sleep in captain Levi's room."  
"There's gotta be something wrong with them."

"Don't you want to know why?"  
"No. If they want me to know, they'll tell me. But I'm not gonna pry."

A few mornings later, they left the cushion wet with tears.  
And they didn't come back.

He waited a week before calling them away from training.

"You alright?"  
"Yes, sir."  
"Do you know why I hold my blades the way I do?"  
"No, sir?"  
"Because it works. And it feels right. Other people say it looks funny, or it hurts their hands, but I keep doing it."  
"Captain, why are you telling me this?"  
"Sometimes we have to ignore what people say and do what works for us."

"I went up to the tower for some fresh air, and they were staring at his window."  
"Did he kick them out?"  
"I don't know. They still haven't slept in their bunk."

The captain was still there when they woke up the next night.

"Sir?"  
"Sleep well?"  
"Yes, sir, thank you. But..."  
"But?"  
"...nothing. Thank you for letting me stay here."

That day the survey corp went outside the walls.  
They weren't among the ones who returned.  
The office seemed very empty without the cushion in the corner.


End file.
